Watching Over You
by beesmith91
Summary: The Tracys experience another avalanche in the snowy mountains.  Can they successfully complete the rescue, or will they lose another family member?  First fanfic ever!


_**Watching Over You**_

Prologue:

"Boys! Come in here for a second!" Jeff Tracy yelled. Four of his five sons ran into his office, surprised to find that their father wasn't alone.

"John!" Jeff's youngest, Alan, ran forward and hugged his second oldest brother.

John chuckled. "Hey sprout. Long time no see."

"What's going on Dad? What's John doing here?" Scott asked. John feigned a look of hurt over his baby brother's blond hair. "Not that I'm not happy to see you," Scott told his younger brother.

Jeff looked at his five sons. "Well, after that Hood incident I think we need to take a vacation, just the six of us. You know, just for the weekend."

Virgil, the middle child, broke into a hug grin. "Really? Where?"

"I was thinking about going to the mountains for some snow."

"Awesome!" Gordon said. "Snowboarding, here I come!"

Jeff smiled. "Okay guys, start getting packed." His three youngest sons ran from the room to pack, leaving his two oldest with grim looks on their faces. Jeff looked at them curiously. "What's wrong?"

"Is this okay Dad?" John asked. "I mean, after Mom…"

Jeff sighed. "We need to learn to let go of the past. We all miss your mother very much, but she wouldn't want us brooding over her death. Life's too short for that. We learned that a few months ago."

"What about International Rescue?" Scott asked.

"I'm sure the world can survive without us for a weekend," Jeff answered. Scott and John nodded. "Okay, now go get packed. We'll leave tomorrow."

"FAB Dad," the two said in unison, and left for their rooms.

Jeff sat down in his chair and looked at a picture of his wife and sons on their last trip to the mountains. "I'm sure they can handle this Lucy," he said to the picture. "Just as long as nothing else happens."

Day 1:

The day after Jeff was waiting for his sons by their private jet, Tracy One. He looked at his watch annoyed and bellowed, "Boys! Hurry up!"

Alan's head appeared at the door of the hangar as he struggled with a huge suitcase containing all of their clothes. "They said that they were coming Dad."

Jeff frowned as he helped his youngest load the suitcase into the jet. After a few minutes the last four boys appeared in the hanger. "Sorry we're late Dad," Scott apologized.

Jeff just shook his head. "Never mind that. Let's get going."

Halfway through the trip Jeff looked back at his boys. Scott had fallen asleep next to him in the co-pilot's seat, John was looking out the windows, probably at the clouds, Virgil and Gordon were sharing Virgil's iPod, and Alan was asleep. Jeff smiled. His boys had become closer after the Hood incident, especially the older four towards Alan after they had almost lost their youngest brother.

Suddenly Scott woke up with a jerk. "Are we there yet?"

Jeff laughed. "Not yet son. We have about 2 ½ hours left."

Scott looked back at his younger brothers and smiled. Being the oldest he was naturally protective of his brothers, but when their mother died he had taken the responsibility of taking care of them, especially Alan who always seemed to be always getting in trouble. "I feel bad for Alan," he said aloud.

Jeff looked at him curiously. "Why?"

Scott looked back at his father. "He never got a chance to really get to know Mom."

Jeff nodded sadly. "It's unfair to him, true, but he has you guys to help him know your mother."

"Us?"

Jeff nodded again. "Through your memories."

Scott smiled. "I suppose so." He paused. "Do you want to get some sleep?" he asked indicating the dark bags forming under his father's eyes.

Jeff shook his head. "No thanks. It's only for a few more hours."

"Ok."

Two hours later the jet landed on a landing pad a few yards from a large cabin. Jeff turned off the jet and looked back at his sons who had all fallen asleep. He smiled before yelling, "Wake up boys! We're here!"

The boys' eyes shot open and there were suddenly awake. Alan got up and looked out the window. He gasped. "It's beautiful."

"Okay. Bags off and someone other than Alan grab the suitcase."

Scott raised his hand. "I'll get it," he volunteered.

As they settled into the cabin Jeff said, "I'll be right back boys. I need to check the mountainside."

"Why?" Virgil asked.

"We won't be able to go out tonight because it's too late, but I want to make sure that the mountain doesn't have any loose snow," Jeff answered.

Scott and John glanced at each other in understanding. "I'll get dinner started," John offered.

"Thanks John. I should be back in about half an hour."

"FAB Dad."

In the back rooms Alan was still unpacking. He looked out the window and groaned. His dad would never let him outside now. Alan grinned. He'd just have to sneak out. He wanted to check out the mountain tonight. He carefully opened the window so it wouldn't creak and jumped to the ground. Excited, he ran to the opposite side of the mountain.

Jeff showed up at the cabin a few minutes after Alan had left. Gordon looked up from the couch that he was lounging on. "What's the status report Captain?" he asked grinning.

Jeff grinned back. "The North side is pretty stable so we'll board over there. The South side is really loose so stay away from there."

"FAB Dad," the four boys said.

Jeff looked around and noticed that one of his sons was missing. "Where's Alan?"

Virgil shrugged. "We called him for dinner but he didn't answer. He probably fell asleep."

Jeff nodded. "Okay. I'll leave him alone."

On the South side of the mountain Alan was wandering around. He silently thanked his father for making them pack their butt-ugly snow jackets. He forgot how cold mountains got at night. He figured that he should get back before anyone started to worry. As he began to turn he heard a crack behind him. He turned as saw tons of rocks and snow rushing down to meet him. He began to run and almost made it to safety until he tripped and hit his head on a rock. The last thing he remembered was snow burying him before everything went back.

Scott looked up at the sound of an avalanche not far from them. Jeff jabbed a thumb towards it. "See what I mean? The South side is dangerous."

Gordon nodded. "Good thing no one's out there."

Virgil agreed. "Yeah. I don't think anyone could survive that."

Scott and John share a quick glance but said nothing.

Jeff stretched. "Okay. Time for bed. We'll go boarding in the morning."

"Night Dad," the boys each said and went to their respective rooms.

Jeff said goodnight and went to his room.

Unknown to them, Alan's room remained empty.

Day 2:

Alan groaned as he opened his eyes. He closed them again as the bright sun intensified his headache. He squinted and noticed that the snow was red near him. He managed to free his arm from the snow and searched for the source of the blood. He found the wound on the back of his head and remembered vaguely hitting his head before loosing consciousness. He groaned again. His dad was going to kill him. So much for getting home unnoticed.

An hour later Alan managed to dig himself free but as soon as he stood up he fell again from the pain in his head. Looking around for shelter he spotted a cave nearby. Hoping it would give him some warmth he forced himself to crawl over. Once inside he bundled up inside his jacket and waited. His family was the Thunderbirds, International Rescue. Surely they could rescue a family member and fellow teammate, right?

Back at the cabin Jeff was the last to wake up to the smell of pancakes, sausages, and eggs. He walked into the kitchen and ruffled the hair of Gordon and Virgil who were sitting at the table eating.

"Mornin' Dad," the boys said.

"Mornin'. Don't talk with your mouth full," he ordered.

"FAB Dad," Gordon with a grin and a mouthful of sausage.

Jeff frowned. "Where's Alan?"

Scott shrugged from the kitchen. "Don't know. I haven't seen him since we got here."

John placed a plate full of food in front of his father and forced him into a chair. "Sit," he ordered. "I'll get Alan."

John walked down the hall to Alan's room and knocked on the door. "Alan? Come on buddy, time to get up. Breakfast's ready." No answer. "Alan?" John knocked harder, then opened the door, and gasped. He ran out of the room into the kitchen. "Dad!"

Jeff looked up as his son ran in. "John? What's wrong? Where's Alan?"

"I don't know!"

Jeff stood up with a pale face. "What?"

"I really don't know where he is! His clothes are put away but his bed hasn't been slept in!"

Jeff ran to his youngest son's room and saw that John was not lying. He looked around the room frantically. "Dad!" He turned around hopefully but only found Scott standing by the window. "The window's unlocked."

If possible Jeff Tracy got even paler.

Gordon looked at Virgil. "You don't think he was kidnapped, do you?" he asked his older brother.

Virgil shook his head. "Impossible. No one else is up here but us."

"So he must of left on his own," Gordon concluded.

"But why?" John asked.

Scott shook his head. "You know Alan. He probably wanted to see the mountainside early."

At those words Jeff's heart stopped. He pressed a button on his watch and a screen popped up. "Thunderbird 5, Thunderbird 5, come in."

He waited a few seconds and Tin-Tin's face appeared. "Thunderbird 5 here." Seeing the fear in Jeff's prompted her to ask, "What's wrong Mr. Tracy?"

Jeff forced his rapidly beating heart to calm down and said, "Can you get a lock on Alan's position?"

Tin-Tin nodded and her face left the screen. A few moments later she was back. "It's very weak, but he's somewhere south of the cabin. Why? What happened?"

"Thank Tin-Tin," Jeff said quietly before shutting the screen off.

"Did she say south of us?" Virgil asked quietly.

Jeff nodded, too afraid to speak. He gulped and, finding his voice, said, "Boys. Suit up. We have to go find your brother."

The boys nodded and rushed to put their suits on. Jeff closed his eyes for a second to calm down, and went to put his own gear on.

Back outside Alan was struggling to stay awake. He knew that the throbbing in his head was a possible concussion and in this cold if he fell asleep he could freeze to death, but his head was also making him tired.

He attempted to stand up but at that moment an avalanche passed over the cave shaking the icicles. One loose icicle fell and embedded itself into Alan's arm. Alan screamed in pain as he heard a bone crack. Now wide awake he struggled to pull out the icicle without loosing too much blood.

As soon as he managed to pull the icicle out he ripped the bottom of his shirt and clumsily made a wrap and a sling for his arm. He forced himself on to his feet. He had to find help, even if it wasn't his family. He heard a rumble above him and as he turned to look a huge boulder came rushing at him. Paralyzed by shock he grunted as the boulder hit him knocking him backwards. He rolled down the mountain with it until he hit a wall and heard a sickening thud. An overwhelming wave of pain hit his lower body and he looked down to see his whole left leg had been caught between the wall of rock behind him and the boulder.

Some more snow fell from the mountain covering Alan up to the middle of his torso. Now he really needed help he thought and he began to scream at the top of his lungs, forcing himself to stay awake.

The Tracys had been up and down the mountain, just barely avoiding another avalanche. Scott looked up at the sky and noticed the position of the sun. He panicked. "Dad, we need to hurry. There's no way Alan could survive a second night out here and he could be hurt."

Jeff nodded. "Virgil and Gordon, you two continue down the mountain and search the bottom. Look for footprints. Scott, you and John search the middle part and I'll go back up top. Contact someone on your watch if you find him."

The four boys nodded. "FAB Dad," they said and went off to search.

As Virgil and Gordon continued down the mountain, Gordon asked fearfully, "We're going to find him, right Virgil?"

Virgil hesitated, then nodded. "Of course we are."

Day 3:

Scott checked his watch and groaned. "It's 2:00. We need to hurry."

John nodded then stopped. "Did you hear that?"

Scott started to shake his head then said, "Yeah, I do."

John ran over to a nearby cave. "It was over here." After walking around for a few moments he spotted something blond sticking out of the snow. He heard another moan. "Scott! Over here!"

Scott ran over to find John digging out something. "Oh God."

"He's under here!" John said frantically. "Hurry and call the others, then help me!"

Scott nodded and did as he was told. "Dad! We found him! He's by the cave!" he said into the watch.

"We're on our way," his father said.

Scott got on his knees and helped dig Alan out. "Come on Alan."

Alan's face popped out and his eyes opened weakly. His blue lips smiled when he saw his oldest brothers. "Scott…John," he said weakly. His eyes began to close.

John panicked. "Alan! Stay awake! Stay with us!"

"Open your eyes!" Scott shouted.

"Scott! John!" a voice said from behind.

Scott turned around. "Dad! Virgil! Gordon!"

Jeff fell to his knees beside Scott. "Alan! How is he?" he asked Scott.

Scott shook his head ad his brothers continued digging. "Not good. From the looks of it he has a head injury which may lead to a concussion, a broken arm, and possibly worse."

"Dad! There's a boulder pinning his leg," Virgil said.

"Let's push it off," Jeff ordered.

With all five pushing they managed to move the boulder and Alan slumped to the ground. "Alan!" Jeff cried. He pulled his youngest son on his lap. "Please Alan, wake up!"

Alan slowly opened his eyes. "Dad?" he said weakly.

Jeff smiled and nodded. "Yes son, stay with me."

Alan closed his eyes again. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Gordon grabbed his good arm. "Alan! Stay awake!"

"Dad, we have to get him back to the cabin," Scott said.

Jeff nodded and wrapped Alan up. "Let's go."

About an hour later Jeff was strapping Alan to the emergency table in the sick bay. "Scott, help me stitch him up. John, Virgil, Gordon, your three wait outside."

"But Dad!" the three bys objected.

"Out!" their father ordered.

As the boys sat outside waiting for the status of their baby brother Gordon asked, "John, Alan's going to be alright, isn't he?"

John wasn't sure what to say. He had never heard Gordon sound so afraid before and it broke his heart. "Yeah, he'll be okay."

A few hours later Jeff and Scott stepped out of the room. John jumped up from his spot. "How is he?"

Jeff sighed. "We'll just have to wait and see. Someone is going to have to watch him at all times."

Gordon stood up. "I'll take the first shift."

Jeff nodded. "Alright. Everyone else get some rest."

"FAB Dad."

Gordon walked into the sick bay and sat next to Alan. He took his hand and was surprised at how cold it was. "Oh Alan. I'm sorry. We should've gotten to you sooner. Please wake up. You've got to wake up." For a split second he thought he saw Alan's eyes flutter. Before he knew it Gordon fell asleep with his head on the bed.

Gordon was suddenly woken up by some movement in the bed. "Alan?" He jumped up as Alan began jerking in the bed. "Dad! Dad!"

Jeff ran into the room a few minutes later. "Gordon? What's wrong?"

"It's Alan. He just started jerking around. What's wrong with him?"

"Alan!" The other boys had just run in to find their baby brother having convulsions. "What's wrong with him Dad?"

"Scott, hold him down. We have to get his heart rate down, now!"

Scott went towards Alan but as soon as he did Alan became limp and the heart rate monitor flat-lined. "Alan!"

"Scott, get the defibrillators! Hurry!"

Scott grabbed them out of the closet and ran to Alan. He ripped open Alan's shirt and started the machine. "Charge 300!" Alan's chest shot up and still the machine continued its monotone beep. "Charge 300!" Again Alan's chest shot up and still there was no change.

After about five minutes of trying Scott turned up the charge. "Charge 350!" Tears flowed down the cheeks of Scott and Jeff. John stood crying holding a bawling Gordon. Virgil stood in shock, unnoticed tears running down his face. "Charge 400!"

30 minutes later Scott placed the defibrillators down and cried. He had failed to save his baby brother. John and Gordon fell to the ground in a clump, tears staining their faces. Jeff took the hand of what was his youngest son and cried. Virgil stared at the lifeless body of his youngest brother. "No, NO!" He ran forward and shook the body. "Alan, wake up! You have to wake up!"

"Virgil!" Scott grabbed his brother's arms and pulled him away. "Stop it! He's gone!"

"NO!" Virgil fought against his eldest brother. "He's not gone! We need to wake him up!"

John and Gordon watched with fear as their brother fought against Scott. Their father decided to jump in and grabbed Virgil around the neck, effectively pulling him down. "Son! Stop! He's gone! He's gone!" Jeff cried. Just saying those words aloud forced the reality into both of their heads.

Virgil stopped struggling and fell to the ground, his brother sobbing with him. "No, no! Please, Alan!" Virgil cried.

Jeff left his sons to cry on the floor as he approached Alan's lifeless body. He shook his head. How could this be happening? He already lost the love of his life to the snowy mountain; he couldn't lose his youngest son too. Ignoring his other sons he grabbed Alan and pulled him into a hard embrace and cried.

Pretty soon he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see the red, teary eyes of his oldest son. "Come on Dad. You need to sleep."

Jeff nodded. "We all need to rest."

Gordon shook his head. "I want to stay here." Jeff began to shake his head but Gordon said, "Dad, please."

Jeff looked at his pleading son and sighed. "Okay, but not for too long."

Gordon nodded and sat beside the bed.

Day 4:

As they went to bed they all remembered Alan. Jeff looked at the clock and noticed that it was 1 in the morning. He sighed falling into his bed. As he closed his eyes a memory of Alan filed his head.

"_Alan? Alan!" Jeff ran around searching for his 5-year-old son. "Scott, have you seen Alan?" he asked the 15-year-old._

_His eldest shook his head. "Sorry Dad."_

_Jeff's 9-year-old ran up to him. "Dad, the back door is open!"_

_Jeff began to panic. "Gordon, go get John and Virgil and tell them to look for Alan around the house. Scott and I will look on the island."_

_Gordon nodded and ran to get his older brothers. Jeff and Scott ran outside, Jeff going right and Scott going left._

_Jeff ran around yelling Alan's name when he heard a whimper from a nearby cave. "Alan?"_

"_Dad?" a small voice asked._

_Jeff ran in to see his baby boy cradling his wrist. "Alan!" He held the trembling boy tight to his chest. He looked at the wrist and noticed the swelling. He touched it slightly as Alan gasped and smiled. It wasn't broken, just sprained._

"_I'm sorry Daddy," the small voice said. "I just wanted to go outside."_

"_It's okay Allie," Jeff said using the boy's nickname to calm him down._

"_I was so scared. I thought you wouldn't find me."_

_Jeff held the boy tighter. "Don't worry Allie. I'll always find you."_

Jeff sat on the side of the bed and put his face in his hands. He hadn't found him this time and it had cost Alan his life.

Scott sat in his room thinking of the time he had found Alan crying in bed one night.

_Scott walked into his 3-year-old brother's room to find him sobbing. "Allie, what's wrong buddy?" he asked sitting next to the boy._

_Alan sniffed and wiped his eyes. "I miss Mommy."_

_Scott tensed up and hugged his baby brother. Alan clutched his older brother's shirt and continued to cry, spotting Scott's pajamas. "It's okay Sprout. I miss Mom too, but we'll see her again." Scott continued to hold hid brother until Alan's even breathing told Scott that he was asleep. "Don't worry kiddo. I'll take care of you."_

Scott shook his head and cried. He had failed. He had broken his promise to his brother and failed to take care of him.

John and Virgil had gone to bed with images of Alan's lifeless body and the sound of his weak voice haunting them in their sleep.

Gordon was probably hit the hardest being the closest age to Alan. Alan had been more than just a brother to him; he was also his best friend. Who was going to play pranks on their older brothers with him? Who was he going to blame when he got in trouble? Gordon tightened his grip on Alan's hand a prayed for a miracle.

Alan opened his eyes to see white clouds. He looked around and saw a beautiful woman who looked a lot like Virgil. "Hi Alan," the woman said with a smile.

"Mom?" The woman nodded. "Am I in heaven?"

The woman shook her head. "Not quite. You died, but it wasn't your time. You need to go back Alan."

Alan shook his head. "I don't want to! I want to stay with you!"

The woman gave him a sad smile. "You can't son. It's not your time. Your father and brothers still need you."

"But-."

"We'll see each other again Alan. I promise. Please, do this for me."

Alan nodded his head. "Okay Mom."

The woman smiled and hugged him. "Thank you Allie. Tell your father and brothers that I love them and I miss them."

"Okay Mom. Bye."

"Bye Allie."

Alan felt a jerk and a few seconds later a rush of pain throughout his whole body. Someone was holding his hand. He struggled for a moment and managed to open his eyes. He saw his brother sleeping next to him. "Gordon?" he said weakly.

Gordon's eyes shot open and he looked at his brother. The sight of Alan's blue eyes made him jump up a second time, this time with a scream. "Alan?"

Alan smirked. "I'm not a ghost if that's what you're thinking."

Gordon smiled and ran over to hug him. "I can't believe you're alive. How?"

Before Alan could answer the rest of the Tracys ran in after hearing Gordon's scream. "Gordon! What's wrong?" Jeff asked. He stopped at seeing his blond-haired, blue-eyed son smiling at him. "Alan? What?"

Gordon smiled at him. "He's alive Dad!"

"But how?"

"Mom," Alan answered.

"What?" Scott asked.

"I saw Mom and she told me that it wasn't my time to die and that I need to go back. She also said that she loves you guys and she misses you."

After finally recovering from the shock of their younger brother coming back to life, Scott, John, and Virgil swarmed the bed. Alan was soon bombarded with hugs. Jeff laughed. "Okay boys. Let him breath. He only just came back to life."

The boys laughed.

Epilogue:

The next day some rescuers came to the cabin to check on them. "Is everyone alright here?" they asked.

Jeff nodded as he looked at his sons either sitting on the couch or on the floor in front of it, talking and watching TV. "We had one accident," he admitted indicating Alan who had a cast on his left leg, one on his right arm, and a bandage wrapped around his head leaving some blond strands sticking out.

The rescuers smiled. "He got lucky. I doubt anyone could've survived that avalanche."

Jeff nodded. "It truly is a miracle."

The rescuers left and Jeff sat back down in the living room as Alan finished telling his brothers what had happened to him. "And then I woke up to see Gordon next to me and you know the rest."

John let out a breath. "I can't believe you survived all that."

"Yeah," Gordon said putting an arm around Alan's shoulders. "Someone up there is really watching over you."

Jeff smiled at those words. 'Thanks Lucy,' Jeff thought.

Lucy Tracy smiled at her boys. "You're welcome Jeff. Take care of him love."

Jeff smiled as his sons played around. Yes, someone was definitely watching over them.


End file.
